A transparent swimming pool suspended more than 100 feet up in the air and linking two buildings is set to be one of the highlights at a plush riverside development under way in London, UK.

The ‘Sky Pool’ will be located at Embassy Gardens, the residential heart of London’s newest neighbourhood, Nine Elms on the South Bank. 

The stunning outdoor pool will link two residential buildings at the 10^th storey – a world first – and allow residents to swim from one building to the next. The sky deck at the top of the two buildings incorporates a spa, summer bar and Orangery for residents to relax and take in the views of London icons which include the Houses of Parliament, London Eye and new US Embassy located next door.

The pool is entirely transparent and structure free, 25 m long, 5 m wide and 3 m deep with a water depth of 1.2 m. It is suspended from a height of 35 m (114 feet).

Designed by Arup Associates, with specialist input from Eckersley O’Callaghan and aquarium designers Reynolds, the experience is intended to be more akin to an aquarium than a pool, with glass that is 20 cm thick.

The pool is the vision of Sean Mulryan, Chairman and CEO of Ballymore Group, working with the scheme’s architects Arup Associates. 

Ballymore is responsible for the development of Embassy Gardens with its development partner Eco World. Together they are developing the second phase as Eco World Ballymore. 

Ballymore has a reputation for creating places and spaces that are more than just bricks and mortar, and this pool is testimony to this philosophy - creating an inspiring environment and giving a unique character to the development. 

Embassy Gardens takes design inspiration from the Meatpacking District of New York with floor-to-ceiling windows and brick facades.  

The buildings that the pool link are part of the second phase of the development which will be released to market this month, as the first residents move in following the completion of phase one. 

This landmark development will see the creation of nearly 2,000 new homes, stunning landscaped gardens and a riverfront walkway threading from Embassy Gardens to Battersea Park, vibrant new bars and restaurants and al fresco and community spaces.

 “My vision for the Sky Pool stemmed from a desire to push the boundaries in the capability of construction and engineering, I wanted to do something that had never been done before,” says Mulryan. “At Ballymore we like to push the boundaries on all aspects of design, the Sky Pool’s transparent structure is the result of significant advancements in technologies over the last decade. The experience of the pool will be truly unique, it will feel like floating through the air in central London.”